Primaries set for two local state seats

By Kevin O’Brien Primary elections for two local state Assembly seats will be held on Aug. 13 after more than one Republican candidate in each district met Monday’s deadline for getting on the ballot.

A three-way race is in store for voters in the 86th Assembly District, which now includes the villages of Marathon City, Edgar, Stratford and Fenwood, along with the towns of Rib Falls, Stettin, Wien, Cassel, Marathon, Eau Pleine, Cleveland, Emmet, Spencer, McMillan, Day, Green Valley and Bergen in Marathon County.

The district also encompasses the entire city of Marshfield, which is where two of the three Republican candidates reside. Rep. John Spiros has represented the 86th since 2013 and was previously a member of the Marshfield City Council. Rep. Donna Rozar, who also lives in the city, has represented the 69th Assembly District since 2021 and is also a member of the Wood County Board of Supervisors.

A third candidate has emerged from the town of Day southeast of Stratford. Farmer Trine Spindler is a member of Farmland First, a group of rural landowners who op-

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pose industrial wind and solar operations coming into Marathon County.

In the redrawn 69th District — which includes all of Clark County, a portion of Taylor County that includes Medford and the Athens area — former Abbotsford mayor Lori Voss will face Rep. Karen Hurd, who used to represent Assembly District 68 and recently moved to the Thorp area.

Voss, owner of Hawkeye Dairy in Abbotsford and an EMT with the Central Fire and EMS District, served as Abbotford’s mayor from 2017 to 2021 and was formerly a member of the city council. According to her candidacy announcement, she has amassed 42 years of public service.

Hurd, a nutritionist and author, had been living in Fall Creek before being drawn out of the 68th due to a new redistricting map approved earlier this year. She was first elected to the Assembly in 2022 and previously served as a Fall Creek village trustee.

The winners of the Aug. 13 primaries will advance to the Nov. 5 general election, and if successful, they will take office in January of 2025. In the 86th, former Marathon City village president John Small has announced his candidacy as a Democrat, and in the 69th, Roger Halls of Stanley is running as a Democrat and Joshua Kelley of Greenwood is running as an Independent.

In other election news, the filing deadline for candidates wishing to run for register of deeds in Marathon County has been extended to Thursday at 5 p.m. after incumbent Dean Stratz did not file nomination papers or a declaration of non-candidacy.

Lori Voss

Karen Hurd

John Spiros

Donna Rozar

Trine Spindler